Last Day of January

The month seems to have flown by! Tomorrow I'll fly to Dallas to see my newest grandchild and visit with family and friends. Ed called this evening to make the final arrangements for Julie's dad, Jerry, to pick me up at the airport. Julie will see her doctor tomorrow about her continuing high blood pressure and fluid retention. She's been at the ER twice over the weekend. We're hoping the medication she's taking will set things right. Meanwhile Jesse is continuing to do just fine.

Gary and Mary Ann stopped by this evening. Mary Ann made us a cute table topper using her computer guided sewing machine to put on the embroidery. She does such creative work. Thanks, Mary Ann! Gary will be driving us to the airport tomorrow, since Ken is still not supposed to drive.

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Lazy Day

We picked up Jan and Steve and went to Darryl's C-1 class this morning at La Hacienda. People had brought more items for the rummage sale, so I got to shop again. This time I bought a cute but rather colorful knit top with jacket and belt to match. When I put on the jacket and belt, Ken asked, "So, what instrument do you play?" That led to laughter all around, of course.

We learned two new calls today, Alter the Wave and Twist the Line, as well as reviewing some of the ones we've already had. The new calls seemed relatively easy, but just the sheer number of new calls and concepts is a bit overwhelming at times--still great fun.

That was all the excitement we could handle for the day. We came home, at lunch, and napped all afternoon. Ken was feeling a bit under the weather, maybe from allergies, and I'm still battling the upper respiratory thing. We got up in time to fix supper.

This evening we watched the remaining episode of Cranford, which ended in a satisfying happy ending for all concerned, after some crises and tears and misunderstandings--good soap opera stuff. Then Ken agreed to give me a chance to even the score at Rummikub. He won three rounds the last time we played, and fittingly I won three tonight.
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Dancing and Laundry

This morning we went to Darryl Lipscomb's dance, and I danced with Jean as usual. She had some sad news today--her mom had passed away, so she'll be flying to Indianapolis tomorrow. Mom was 87 and had a heart attack in her sleep, so a good life and a quick way to go, but it's still hard to lose your mom.

On the way home we stopped at Subway for a quick sandwich, got diesel and groceries, and then headed for the laundromat. Today they had power, so mission accomplished.

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Another Quiet Day

I spent most of the day sleeping or lying around. I'm hoping I'll feel better before I fly out next Monday. We tried to do the laundry, but when we got to the laudromat, its power was out, so we'll try again tomorrow. We took a couple of walks around the park, and that was the limit of our ambition for the day.
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Quiet Day

Ed and Julie and Cate and Sam took their newest family member home today. Jesse seems to be doing well, according to Ed, except for some spitting up. It was good to hear from Julie yesterday that her blood pressure immediately went back to normal and the cholestasis itching went away.

We took a few short walks today, but otherwise just hung out. I'm still feeling under the weather so I didn't have too much ambition.

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Isn't Technology Wonderful?

Today I got to see the whole family in the hospital room, courtesy of Careview, which provides a webcam in each hospital room. Of course you have to have the right URL and password, and the patient has to okay your viewing the room. And the video is very small, so that tiny baby was a speck, but it was still great to see them--and it was even in color.

We went and looked at some recliners like the ones our friends Gary and Maryann bought last year. They're very nice, but it turned out that they just wouldn't fit in our space. We'll look more in Dallas.
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Welcome to the World, Baby Boy!

 Today was a beautiful day to be born.

Ed and Julie went to the hospital this morning as planned. The baby was being induced early because of complications, but the doctor assured them that he was about 7 pounds and that everything looked good. I thought he might be born by noon, but it was actually 3:53 p.m. when Jesse Edward Shaffer entered the world. Doesn't Julie look happy???

Cute, huh? but he cleaned up well.

Cate and Sam got to meet their new baby brother too.

Even though he was born at 37 1/2 weeks, he weighed in at 6 lbs. 15 oz. and 19 3/4" and is holding his own quite well.

Here's his proud papa:

We're so proud and happy for them! I'll be flying up to visit next week (when he was scheduled to be born....). Julie's parents came last week to help out and will be staying for a while.
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Joe Saltel

Today we had a C-1 lesson from Joe Saltel, but again at La Hacienda, since Tropic Star wasn't available today. We reviewed lots of calls and added some new ones, including vertical tags and the tandem concept. Altogether, Jan asked if we could detect the smell of fried brains! Joe's wife, Chris, wasn't there today because their daughter is having health problems so Chris flew up to be with her. The daughter apparently has an aneurysm in the brain and a torn artery in the back of the brain/neck somewhere, and they haven't decided yet whether to operate or just try to deal with the condition with medication. We are sending healing thoughts.

Ken had much less problem with his back at the lesson today, partly because Joe didn't call as fast as Darryl. Read more!

Happy Birthday, Kelley!

Today is my oldest grandchild's 22nd birthday, and it seems likely that the new baby will be born on Monday, if not before. Quite a spread, especially considering that all my kids were born in a span of just over two years.

We picked up Steve and Jan this morning and headed to La Hacienda for our C-1 lesson. We arrived a bit early, and right nearby was a garage sale, so Jan and I headed over to check it out. I found a few good books. Then we went to the hall, and the neighborhood was having a rummage sale, so in between tips we got to browse through the "stuff." Lots of it was easy to resist, but I did pick up a cute jacket that Doris suggested. I also found a very nice WWF (World Wildlife Fund) umbrella--just what I needed to replace the Totes I lost. And to round off the booty, a book about Howard Hughes' life and madness sounded like an interesting read.

We reviewed lots of calls, and today we added a few, like Scoot and Little and Wheel Fan Through. These are calls we've heard frequently, especially during the C-1 tips at Trailblazers. They've always seemed rather mysterious, but once you know the definition, many C calls are actually quite easy. I find myself saying, "Oh! That's how that call goes..." Of course I also find myself going blank when I hear a new call. I think it will be a while before I have Scoot and Little sorted out from Scoot and Ramble.
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No Trip to Mexico

We got up early this morning to get to the clinic in time to be among the first to be seen. We arrived before 8:00 a.m. and expected to be out in plenty of time to make it to the dance at 10:00 a.m. After all, I was just coming back to get the results of my tests. At 9:30 a.m., I found myself waiting for "balance rehab." We asked if we could come back later and were told to return at noon. So much for our plan to go to Mexico after the dance.

The dance was fun. I danced with Jean again, and Ken read or walked around during the tips. Afterwards we hurried back to the clinic--and sat and waited. When the tech finally called me in, he had me stand on a balance platform with a computer screen showing my position as a small plus sign with a vertical and horizontal axis. If I shifted my balance, the plus sign moved. He told me to try to keep my plus sign inside a square that moved slowly around the center point. This was not too difficult a task--and rather boring. I was told to come back daily for 12 sessions.

My son Chris has a Wii Fit that I tried when we visited this summer, and I'd had an interest in getting one for us. Now I have a perfect excuse to go out and buy a video game--instead of paying $20 per session for 12 sessions, I could spend about $300 and have my own balance trainer that I could continue to use. Sounds like a winner to me. The problem now is that most sellers are out of stock on the Wii balance board.


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New Horizons Tour

The highlight of our day today was a visit to a New Horizons fifth wheel on view in our park, the prototype for their new wide-body Majestic line. The owners of the company are touring various RV shows and parks to show off their new model. It was wowing everyone who saw it today, including us. As Ken said, we've seen a lot of RVs described as "luxurious," but this one actually deserves the adjective.

The Majestic was featured recently on the cover of Trailer Life Magazine. Of course, as the article points out, the msrp rivals that of many residential homes, so it better have lots of luxury features and construction, and it does. Can you tell we were impressed?


But when we got back home, we had to admit that we really like our Excel a lot and have no plans to replace it anytime soon.

We were very disappointed to hear that the Supreme Court had struck down campaign financing limits on corporations today. We're afraid that corporate money, which already has a huge influence through lobbying, will have a disproportionate effect on future elections. None of this will be to the benefit of the people--at least those who are not CEOs and top execs of corporations.

I made cabbage soup for lunch, and Ken pronounced it delicious after admitting that he'd had his doubts when he saw how much cabbage was going into the mix.

Tomorrow we'll have to get up early in the morning to go back to the clinic to get the results of my tests. I am definitely feeling much better, but not completely well yet.
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Happy Birthday, Edward!

Ed has reached ultimate wisdom today--he's "42" and so he knows the answer to "Life, the Universe, and Everything." He's about to become a father again, and find out that life is an imponderable mystery wrapped up in a baby.

Not much going today. We slept in, so we had our oatmeal for "brunch." Then we did our laundry. We went to the Plus Laundry on Exp. 83, and decided that it's much preferable to the park laundry, partly because it has front loading washers and partly because it has commercial dryers that you can add a quarter at a time to (instead of putting $1.25 in and hoping the clothes get dry).

This evening we joined Gary and Mary Ann and their neighbors, Terry and Anna, at the clubhouse for "Bentsen Palm Village Has Talent." It had some hilarious moments, but after a couple of hours, Ken had to get up and walk around, so we came home.

As usual, we walked around the park a few times today. On our last walk we came upon a brand new shiny New Horizons just being set up, with a large sign announcing its presence. It's here as a model, and we hope to tour it in the next day or two. We talked with Karen, who said they had driven it from Miami and had 12 appointments already set up to give tours.
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Dancing

I'm not one to let a little discomfort get in the way of square dancing, but when I woke up this morning suffering from some vertigo again, I did wonder whether I'd be able to dance with Jean and Joe Saltel's dance today. The vertigo was definitely better than yesterday, and I thought that I'd improve with time spent upright, and that's exactly what happened. Ken drove to the dance, but by the end I felt up to driving home.

We stopped at the store on our way home for food and decided to look at water filter options. We bought a PUR unit for the kitchen faucet, which will be much more convenient than having a pitcher on the counter. However, we had bought a supply of filter cartridges for the pitcher, so we'll use those first before starting to use the PUR.

When we visited Yosemite last April, we stayed at an Escapees COOP park called Park of the Sierras. We were so taken by the beauty of the area and of the park that we put down a deposit to get on the waiting list to buy in, thinking that it would be a couple of years before our name came up. However we got a message a few days ago that we are #16 on the list. We had been talking recently about the logistics of owning property near Yosemite and the unlikelihood that we would spend enough time there to make it advantageous to be owners rather than renters when we visit the area. We've decided to withdraw our name and request a refund of our deposit. Someday we might find ourselves wanting to own something, but for now we are enjoying being footloose and fancy free.

The produce guy was in the park this afternoon as usual, and I stocked up on veggies and a delicious cored pineapple.
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Scary Day

I woke up early this morning with a really weird disorienting feeling of whirling around, and when I went to the bathroom, I felt like I was going to fall. I went back to bed and to sleep, hoping that when I woke up all would be well. It wasn't. Either I was spinning or the room was spinning, and I promptly threw up my morning coffee. As you can imagine, that's not a comfortable feeling. I was still hoping it would go away, but I (of course) googled the symptoms, found that what I was experiencing was vertigo, and that I should see a doctor.

So we headed to the computer to find out which internists in our area accept our insurance and called the first one. They said I could come in tomorrow morning at 9. The second one said come in right away. We found ourselves at the Castrillon Family Clinic, where we were the only Anglos among a large group of people waiting to get in. Fortunately the intake person asked for us to be expedited, so I got in pretty quickly. I was a bit surprised to have a Physician's Assistant (Erika Gonzalez) come in to check me out. She said something along the lines of the doctor has a very heavy accent and likes her to interpret when he sees patients who don't speak Spanish.

I never did see the doctor, but the PA was very nice and seemed quite competent. She ordered several tests. I had blood work, a urinalysis, a VNG (Videonystagmography) test, hearing and other ear tests, allergy tests, and sinus x-rays. I'll get the results of those tests on Friday, but today she said that I had fluid buildup and a sinus infection. I am also allergic to several trees, lots of animals, and molds, but the reactions weren't severe, so they're apparently mild allergies. I got prescriptions for Singulair and a Z-Pak, and samples of Sibelium (flunarizine hydrochloride) to take and instructions to use Afrin nasal spray for three days. The diagnosis was Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV), which doesn't sound nearly as scary as stroke or brain tumor 8-)

Meanwhile I was feeling better, and the PA suggested that it was because I had been upright for a while and that would relieve the pressure . . . By the time we got home, I figured I was feeling well enough to go to the C-1 lesson. Ken went too, and our appearance really surprised Doris and Bob, who had happened to call while we were at the clinic. Actually, it rather surprised me too. Ken did very well at the lesson. He has danced most of the early C-1 calls before, so only a few were new. He attended Randy's session before his surgery, and Romney and Darryl have called lots of C-1 directionally.

Today was a really beautiful day, with blue sky and sunshine, but my encounter with vertigo made me aware of how contingent all our plans are.

I am still feeling a bit odd, so I'm a bit worried about lying down to sleep. I may end up in the recliner tonight.
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Beautiful Day

Today was a lovely day, warm and inviting, with a blue sky stippled with white clouds here and there. I rode with Jan and Steve to Tropic Star for Joe Saltel's C-1 class. On the way I got to eat a really delicious tangelo fresh from their tree, and they gave me a bag to take home. There's nothing like tree ripened fruit.

There were 29 couples today. Chris recruited an angel from the park to be my partner--thanks, Jack! Darryl and Decah were dancing with the class, and Darryl gave me one of their cards, with their blog url: http://hogtrails.blogspot.com/ Jeff might enjoy some of their adventures.

Darryl and Decah Lipscomb

I talked with Julie this evening. On top of everything else she has a sinus infection, so now she is getting hardly any sleep at all. She'll be the first new mother in history to get more sleep after the baby is born! Her appointment this week is Tuesday, and she's hoping to convince her doctor that 37 weeks sounds like a good time for this baby to be born.

Ken took this shot on a walk in our park:

Ken said today that he thinks he may be able to handle C-1 lessons earlier than he had originally thought. We talked about the calls that have been taught so far. He has danced many of them already, so he won't have too much catching up to do.
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More C-1

I drove over to Green Gate Grove to Steve and Jan's place this morning and rode with them to La Hacienda for C-1 class. Today was the first "official" class for C-1, according to Darryl Lipscomb. The group just keeps getting larger every class--this time there were 31 couples, and an angel couple was called to make the 8 squares. I danced with Lila, who helps Decah at the door. Darryl is an excellent teacher. His explanations were clear and very helpful, and he offered directions and tips in digestible bits just as we were ready for them.

We went out to Camping World today to pick up a water pressure gauge. We wanted to put more pressure on the plumbing to be sure that we wouldn't have a leak. When we put the gauge in the line after our cheap plastic water pressure regulator, it showed only 35 lbs.--very wimpy. We tossed the regulator. Without the regulator, the gauge showed 50 lbs., which should be safe for RV plumbing, so we hooked up the water without a regulator. So far all is well--no leaks and we have good water pressure for the first time in months. Woohoo!

Ken and I have been taking regular walks around the park. Tonight the sky was clear enough to see the stars, so I got out my Droid and started the Google Sky program. It's a technological marvel--just hold it up to the sky in any direction and it shows the stars, planets, and constellations right where you're facing. Wow!




I had a butternut squash that's been in the basket for a while now, so I took it out planning to make soup, but then I decided to do something else this time. So I peeled the squash and cut it in 3/4" dice (very approximately). I roasted it drizzled with some olive oil. Then I put half in the fridge and kept the other half out to make Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette (a Barefoot Contessa recipe that Terri introduced us to). I of course adapt the recipe a bit, using romaine instead of arugula and way more lettuce and less olive oil than the original, but it's still great. Here's a photo I found on a blog:



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Staple Removal

Today was another milestone on the road to healing. This morning we went to Darryl Lipscomb's dance. Ken visited with our friends, and during the tips he walked around the park or played on his Droid. I danced with Jean.

As soon as the dance ended, we headed for Harlingen, stopping only briefly to grab a Subway chicken breast sandwich which we ate quickly. It turned out to be "hurry up and wait" since we got to Dr. Six's office around 1:10 p.m. for Ken's 1:20 p.m. appointment, but Ken wasn't called until almost an hour later. The visit went well. Dr. Six was happy with Ken's progress, and the staple removal was nearly painless. Ken will go back February 8 for an x-ray to go over with Dr. Six as a baseline. The next x-ray will be in six months.

On the way home we stopped at Lowes to look at water filters and at Walmart for groceries. We were supposed to have thunderstorms today, but they never materialized. Instead we had sun most of the day and just a gentle rain tonight.

We finally decided on an audiobook to download: True Compass by Ted Kennedy. We were in Boston at the JFK Library shortly after Senator Kennedy's death and walked through the memorial display which highlighted his life and work. We will have to burn the book to CD to listen to it in the truck, since there is no Audible player available for the Droid yet.
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Repairs

Today was supposed to be rainy here, but actually turned out to be fairly nice, though overcast. We were able to walk around the park. I took the laundry up to the north laundry room, hoping for better dryers. One of the park volunteers was at the laundry and told me that the machines there were newer--only one year old. They worked great.

We put the pressure regulator back in the line and turned on the water today, with towels to soak up the leak, which was pretty slow, so we did have running water. There wasn't enough pressure for a shower, so I went over to the park shower, which was pretty nice.

We spent some more time considering our options for water filters, etc. We talked to our neighbor, who has a very cool setup. He has rigged a small cooler to hold his two canister water filters, the first to remove sedimentation and the second to improve the taste and clarity.

We called a mobile RV repair person who lives in the park, Mark Brown. He had several things to do today, but said he'd try to make it over this afternoon. Around 7 p.m. he called an offered to come over, which we gratefully accepted.

Over four hours later, we had water again. Mark had to go to Home Depot for parts and be very patient and creative. Thanks, Mark!

Tomorrow is Ken's appointment to have his staples removed. He didn't take any pain pills after this morning--a very good sign.
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RV = Repair Vehicle, Again

We have been dealing with very low water pressure for some time now. Today we decided to try once again to get to the root of the problem. We've tested and found good water pressure through the water filter (which we recently replaced) and the water pressure regulator (which we also recently replaced). We unhooked the incoming water hose from the RV water input, which in our rig is inside a bay, and tested to make sure that water was flowing okay through the hose. The next step was to take out the check valve, which Gary helped me do, with the thought that maybe it was defective.

The check valve is brass and appeared to be just fine, so we were stumped. Gary suggested taking the pressure regulator and water filter out of the line. He said that they don't use a pressure regulator and the pressure in this park is pretty low. So that's what we did, and suddenly we had great water pressure. Wow, how wonderful! We decided to leave things that way and order a really good water filter and pressure regulator we had been researching online from the RV Water Filter Store.

Just as we were getting ready for bed, Ken yelled, "Lee, look!" Water was soaking the carpet in the living room adjacent to the cabinet under the sink. We've been through this water bit before (when our toilet overflowed a couple of times last year), so I grabbed the towels to soak up the water and ran to turn off the water supply. Darn! I knew it was too good to be true.

It was too late to call a repair person, so we filled up a couple of jugs of water and went to bed.

Ken has been very conscientious about walking every hour, just as Dr. Six recommended, and I've been walking with him too. We got in over 13,000 steps on my pedometer today, and it's a great opportunity for us to talk and to see what's happening in the park.

Terri emailed Ken a lovely poem, which he very much appreciated:

'WINTER'

A poem by

Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre

SHIT, It's Cold !

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Dancing with Jean

This morning I finally got to dance with Jean Ballinger, at Joe Saltel's. I danced the boy's part, and we agreed to switch off for Darryl's dance Friday. Everything went pretty well. I made a couple of fumbles, but nothing horrendous, and the hot hash tip at the end was great. One of the other ladies commented that the hot hash tip makes the dance--to which all of us agreed. It was exhilarating.

When I got home, I found that Ken was not feeling too well again. He called the doctor's office and was told that it is very common for people to suffer from constipation after the anesthetic wears off and that they recommend any over the counter laxative. Fortunately he felt better later in the day, and we went for a couple of walks together. On the first we came upon the produce sale opening up early. I picked up several things, including a nice bunch of spinach. So we had spinach lasagna rolls for dinner. The secret ingredient is tofu in place of the usual ricotta. They were good, but next time I will put them in the oven to bake instead of in a skillet.




Ken mailed in his application for pension from the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church. It won't be a lot, since he was only in the ministry three years, but every little bit helps. He'll be 65 on May 14, so he'll be applying for Medicare soon too.
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C-1 Class with Randy

Today was the first "official" C-1 square dance class. The Monday classes are being taught by Randy Dougherty at Pharr South. Bob Reece will be my partner for the lessons, since Doris is having back problems. Six squares showed up today--quite a floor for C-1 lessons. Randy jumped right in with all four feet and taught 11 calls, plus variations. Heads were swimming. It's going to be a lot of fun.

Jan and Steve Spaulding are taking the classes. They went on a tour of an aloe vera grower today, which included a visit to an avocado grove. Jan said that the trees were showing the effects of the recent freeze. They got some nice avocados, and left me a surprise when I got out to the truck: a shiny big green avocado was perched on the windshield wiper.

Ken says he is feeling much better today. He certainly looks like he's doing better. He's been out walking as the doctor ordered, but is having a bit of trouble remembering not to sit for more than 15 minutes at a time. Once he gets in front of the computer, all bets are off.

I made some shrimp creole for supper tonight. You can't go wrong with shrimp!
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Grapefruits and Oranges!

The freeze we have had the last couple of days has not been good for the citrus trees. People are picking the fruit to save it. Hardy and Judy thought of us when their neighbor had a surplus, and they brought by a couple of large bags of grapefruit and one of oranges. Judy also brought a couple of nice slices of some sweet bread she had made. We thought about saving them for breakfast, but then decided they'd be great for an afternoon snack. Yum! We'll have plenty of fresh fruit for breakfast for quite some time. Thanks, friends!

Ken has not felt too great today, although the incision is not giving him very much trouble. The side effects of the pain pills are less positive.

I talked with Aunt Iris and Aunt Helene today. Both were doing well. Helene has moved to a place that's only 1/3 mile from the church where she ushers, so she's happy about that.

Couldn't resist posting the pancake recipe we had for brunch. These were delicious, high protein, and lowfat. What more could you ask?

FLUFFY COTTAGE CHEESE PANCAKES

1 c. oatmeal, ground (measure and then grind in food processor or blender--this would yield about 3/4 c. oat flour)
½ t. baking soda
¼ t. salt
3 T. Splenda Granular
¼ t. cinnamon
4 eggs (or 2 eggs and ½ cup egg substitute)
1 c. cottage cheese (lowfat)
1/3 c. skim milk
1 t. vanilla

In a large bowl blend the dry ingredients. In another bowl whisk the wet ingredients. (I used my immersion blender to puree the wet ingredients because I like the cottage cheese smooth). Blend together and let sit for about 20 minutes. Heat a griddle over medium heat (or just slightly lower). Spray with butter flavored spray. Pour 1/4 c. into hot pan and cook until almost dry on the top. If underside gets too brown, turn down heat. These are very hard to turn if they are not cooked enough on the first side. Flip and cook until the middle is no longer wet. Serve with sugar free maple syrup. Leftover batter can be kept in fridge.
Modified from a recipe by Linda Farnsworth (Marysville, WA).
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Freeze!

We had a hard freeze last night, which we expected. What we didn't expect is that we ran out of propane in the night, so it was 48 degrees inside when we woke up this morning. At first we thought there must be a problem with the system, since we just got propane a few days ago, but on checking we found that both tanks were empty.

Then we heard a knock on the door, and it was our neighbor, asking if we were trying to flush something out, since he had found our outside water faucet running full blast. It turned out that Ken had turned off the water at the splitter, which was plastic, and it had blown apart from the freeze. So we didn't have a very auspicious beginning to our day, but it got better. The neighbor, Andy, offered to take our tank to get propane. I asked if he'd help me take both tanks in our truck, and that's what we ended up doing. When we pulled up to Pony Express Propane, there was a line of trucks. Evidently we weren't the only ones who found that the freezing weather used more propane than expected. Usually we just set a tank out by the road, and the truck comes around to fill it up. We've never seen a line at the propane place.

Life was much better once we got the furnace running and the tea water heated and the hot water tank heating.

Our friends Gary and Mary Ann stopped by to see how Ken was doing. We got lots of email messages and phone calls yesterday offering encouragement and support for Ken. It's really good to have friends.

For most of the day Ken was not feeling too great. He had quite a bit of pain, but tonight he says he feels better. He's been very conscientious about walking every hour as Dr. Six ordered. The muscles around the incision tend to tighten up, and walking relieves the stress.

I did the laundry today. I'm used to having Ken help, and we both check the washers and dryers to see if any socks are left. Well today I left more than socks, nearly half a load of wash in one of the washers. I really need that guy to watch my back.

Yesterday we noticed that Ken's incision was draining quite a bit. Dr. Six had said we could change the dressing on the drain tube hole, but it would be best to leave the incision dressing alone unless it got just too grubby. It was soaking through the dressing and through his clothes, so I put a new dressing on and covered the whole area with Hypafix to confine any fluid. The nurse had sent us home with supplies. The Hypafix is really neat stuff. It reminded us of Contact paper, but it comes on a roll. You cut what you need and peel off the backing. It holds well but is easy to remove. Ken slept on a towel in case it soaked through again, but this morning it was clear that the excess drainage had stopped, fortunately. I put new dressings on again, hopefully for the last time before his appointment next Friday to have his staples removed.
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Hospital

I spent the night at the hospital with Ken. He had the usual sleep interruptions from nurses and others checking his vitals, etc. For my part, I had a very uncomfortable night on a piece of furniture clearly designed to discourage family members from staying with patients (well, maybe not exactly, but it sure felt like it!).

At 7:30, Dr. Six showed up to check on Ken and write the orders for his release. Yay! He got to come home today as we hoped. Dr. Six wrote a prescription for pain pills and told Ken to walk as much as possible, which Ken took to heart today. By tonight he was feeling pretty ragged, even with the pain medication, especially when he tried to change position. We're hoping tomorrow will be a good day. It should be sunny and a bit warmer than today. The arctic front was intensified today by wind chill.

I made chicken soup for supper--supposed to be good for patients 8-) and creamy rice pudding.
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Surgery Day

I threatened to post a picture of Ken in his hospital gown, but I'll be kind and leave that to your imagination...

We got up at 4 a.m. to be at the Harlingen Medical Center by 6 a.m., way before we usually wake up. Ken drove, commenting wryly that it would be the last time he drove for a while (like a month). Dr. Six came by to talk before surgery and answer last minute questions, of which we had several since this was a new surgery we hadn't discussed in detail before.

The operating room nurse called about 8:30 a.m. to say that the surgery had started around 8 a.m. and was going well. She called a few more times with encouraging words. At 2:30 p.m. Dr. Six emerged to tell me that the surgery had gone very well. Ken had a ruptured disc that hadn't shown up on the imaging, but since it was at the fusion level, it was removed. The bone removed from the vertebrae for the decompression was ground up and mixed with bone bank bone to provide the fusion material. Dr. Six indicated that the fusion area appeared quite solid and should fuse nicely. That will take six months to a year.

At 3:30 p.m. I got the call that Ken was going up to his room on the third floor, and I went up to greet him. He was smiling as they wheeled him into the room. He has a sore throat from the tube used for anesthesis, and of course his incision isn't very comfortable, but on the whole he feels pretty good. He ate a good dinner, and then they got him up for a walk. Later we walked together all the way around the floor. Dr. Six has really emphasized the importance of plenty of walking to encourage proper healing of the back.

Several people called or emailed to let us know that they were sending healing wishes Ken's way. It's really good to have caring family and friends. Ken talked with Jeff and Rebecca and later called his brother, Gordon, who doesn't have email. Gord is 15 years older than Ken; he had fusion surgery three years ago. This stenosis problem apparently runs in the family.

The plan is to go home tomorrow after Dr. Six comes by and checks the incision and removes the drain. I'm hoping that we don't get the mixture of drizzle and freezing temperatures that would make the roads really slippery. It's expected to be in the 20's tonight and tomorrow night.

I had lots of time to wait in the lobby. When I found myself drifting off I decided to go shopping. On the way I heard a strange tone and thought it must be coming from my Droid, which I was using to navigate around Harlinger. The tone repeated at regular intervals, kind of like a smoke detector with run down batteries. I finally realized it was the buzzer I had been given to hold so that the desk staff could contact me. Evidently it didn't like being away from its home range, but was fine once we got back to the hospital.

I found a 99 Cents Only Store, one of my favorites from California, and stocked up on bargains. It's a good thing we aren't traveling for a while, so we'll have time to use the stuff up.
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Intro to C-1

One of the things Ken and I had planned to do this season was take lessons for the next level of square dancing, called Challenge. The first stage of that is called C-1. Randy Dougherty, Joe Saltel, and Darryl Lipscomb will each be teaching a class each week, and students have to commit to come to every class, since five new calls will be taught at each one. The classes officially start next Monday, but Randy was having a couple of introductory sessions. Ken agreed to go with me. It will be the last time he dances for quite a while.

There were five squares of students, which should make a good group. Many of them are friends and familiar faces. We'll all be working together to master the material. At this level of square dancing, a lot of the enjoyment comes from being able to complete complex choreography successfully, applying concepts that modify a whole range of calls. It takes a square of eight dancers working as a team to do that, all helping each other, especially by being in the right place at the right time.

It was good to get out and do something to take my mind off worrying about the surgery tomorrow. Ken, of course, wasn't really able to get that detached 8-) We didn't get the word until almost 5 p.m. that the insurance company had okayed the surgery, and even at that, they are withholding approval for some of the necessary included procedures until after the surgery, for no apparent reason. Frustrating and potentially expensive....

We are very concerned about Julie and the expected baby (Jesse or Jackson). In addition to the cholestasis, Julie has started to have high blood pressure. She went to the hospital last night and they decided to keep her overnight for observation. She was sent home on strict bed rest, and the OB indicated that they would probably induce at 38 instead of 39 weeks, or even sooner if necessary, but so far the baby is doing very well. Fortunately they have some great friends and neighbors who are stepping up to help out with the kids.

We had tickets for the Freddy and Sheila Show Friday night, but we're not even 100% sure we'll be home by then, and it's doubtful, even if we are, that Ken would feel up to sitting through a concert. I took the tickets by Guest Services and they will try to sell them for us. That shouldn't be a problem, since the concert is sold out and people have been coming by looking for tickets. We'll have to put on the CD of their music that we bought at the show last year. We really enjoyed that performance.

We're all packed up to leave early in the morning for the hospital.

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Happy Birthday, Terri!

Geni (the genealogy program) sent a reminder that Terri McBride turns 43 today. I called and wished her a happy birthday. She was out with some friends for coffee this morning and was going out this evening for dinner with friends to celebrate her birthday and as a going away party for one of the guys who is being deployed.

We went to Joe Saltel's dance this morning. Bob Reece was there, but Doris was home, still not up to dancing and feeling pretty rough with her back pain. Bob suggested that he and I could go through the C-1 lessons together, and Ken and Doris could keep each other company and watch.

I finally made it to the produce sale that is held every Tuesday afternoon at the clubhouse. I got a big bunch of broccoli, a cored pineapple, some grapefruit and oranges, and some apples. All of them looked really good and fresh.

When I got back from my walk, Ken had received a call from the doctor's office saying there was a hold-up in getting authorization from the insurance company. Ken spent the next few hours talking with people at the doctor's office, the hospital, and the insurance company. Finally it was agreed that the surgery would be postponed until Thursday, when Dr. Six fortunately had a cancellation. We thought that the approval would be routine and would come through tomorrow, but later Ken got a voicemail from the insurance company saying that the request had been denied. They always reject the Dynesys procedure as investigational, but indicated that a decompression and fusion would be approved, and that Ken had a right to appeal. So now we're waiting to talk with Dr. Six tomorrow to see what's next.

It is especially frustrating to run into this last-minute problem, since we asked Dr. Six's billing department to verify that the surgery would be approved the first time we met with him a month ago. Ken called too, and was assured that all would be well. Ken had some suspicion that the Dynesys procedure might be rejected since it is described as experimental in the US, although several European countries approve it.

Gary and Mary Ann came over this evening to play some Golf. They brought Ken some chocolates to cheer him up in the hospital. Gary has had back surgery, so they know something of what Ken might be going through.
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Dr. Six Again

We had another appointment with Dr. Six, to clear up any questions about the surgery Wednesday. Afterwards we went over to the hospital next door to preregister and for Ken to have the necessary tests, which took hours. One interesting thing is that the whole series of tests and paperwork was handled by having a buzzer, like the one you get at a restaurant when you're waiting for a table. The hospital is pleasant and modern looking, and everyone was very nice.

We missed Randy Dougherty's introduction to C-1 that I had planned to attend this afternoon, but we did go over to the special plus dance with Joe Saltel and Larry Letson. When we walked in the door, we were a bit surprised to find that pretty much everyone was dressed up, and Ken was the only guy with a short-sleeved shirt on. We walked around the hall and saw absolutely no one we knew, so we decided to go across the street to Pharr South to Randy's dance. Hardy and Judy were there, as well as other dancers we know and like to dance with, so that worked out quite well.

It was a bit of a hectic day, and the first time we've danced to Randy since last New Year's Eve, when he and Jerry Story had a special dance. When Randy saw me, he said, "Hello, stranger." He will be one of the teachers for the C-1 classes, so I'm glad we got to one of his dances before the lessons started.
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Sad News

My cousin Jan called this morning to tell us that George had passed away. He had been very ill for a while, but was home and had been doing well over the holidays. I'm saddened to think of Jan's grief at this traumatic loss. We will definitely miss that special George spirit, as will his family and many, many friends.

George definitely added spice to life!

George celebrating Thanksgiving with family.

Today was otherwise uneventful. We did make it out to buy provisions before returning to cocoon and watch a movie we had TIVO'ed: 2010, a sequel to 2001.

For dinner I fixed a beer-can chicken (though I actually use a coke can with water). They always come out moist and flavorful. There's barely enough room in my little oven to stand a chicken upright.

We played a couple of rounds of Perquacky. The first was close, but I won both, so I'll have to give Ken a chance for revenge soon.
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Bike Ride

It was chilly this morning, so we were just as happy to postpone our planned bike ride with friends until afternoon. We took advantage of the chance to do the laundry. When I went to Guest Services for quarters, I ran into Mary Ann, who had just bought their tickets to the Freddie and Sheila Show next Friday. We got our tickets yesterday, and we're looking forward to a repeat of last year's wonderful show.

We tried to fix my front brakes, which were damaged somehow by a fall in the park a couple of days ago, but to no avail, so we just disabled them. Riding around here is level and pretty tame, so the rear brakes will work just fine until we can get the bike into a shop. We met Hardy and Judy at this end of the Mission Trail around 12:30, and by that time it was a beautiful day for a bike ride, a mix of sun and light cloud cover and 67 degrees. Hardy brought along his gps and a list of geocaches along our route.

We hunted in vain for the first cache in the tangle of vegetation along the bike route. We did manage to find two others, so we considered the day a success.

Hardy with his GPS and list is ready to geocache.

Lee is having no luck in this hunt.

Cane burn ahead!

Hardy and Judy at the Conway end of the Mission Bike Trail

On our way back we rode through Retama Village and decided to stop to look through the models. We had toured the casita with RV port and the house before, but this was Hardy and Judy's first look. Their reaction was similar to ours, "Hey, we could live here."

All the photos above were taken with our Droids. They are much better than most of our early shots, which is probably due to the software update Verizon pushed out to correct some early glitches.

By the time we were finished with the ride, all of us were ready for dinner, so we agreed to meet at a restaurant. We ended up at Angel's Restaurant, where Judy and Hardy are regulars. It's a family operation with a comfortable atmosphere and good home cooking, Mexican style. Ken, Judy, and I ordered the combination, but Hardy was more adventurous and had the special menudo and barbacoa.

We were feeling lazy when we got home and just vegged out at our computers and catching up on a couple of TIVO'ed Jeopardy shows.
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A New Year

We started the year off right by dancing to Darryl Lipscomb this morning. The rest of the day was pretty quiet. I took a walk and ended up going along the levee over to the World Birding Center, hoping to see the tiger heron, the first ever sighted in the US. Lots of other people were on the levee there too--including a ranger with a scope pointed right at the marvelous bird, standing somewhat camouflaged in some tall plants. How lucky was that?


Our friends Gary and Mary Ann stopped by to wish us a happy New Year. They arrived back in Texas yesterday late afternoon, glad to be out of the Kansas weather. It was cooler here today, with a high around 67 and sunny--definitely better than Oberlin, KS, which is freezing and snowy.

We had pork roast and sauerkraut with mashed potatoes, green beans, fried apples, brown bread, and cole slaw for a special New Year's dinner (no black eyed peas). I talked with Aunt Iris, who is helping out an elderly friend, Evelyn. Iris and Beth were planning a feast between them. I talked with Julie, who is unsure how much the medication is helping her itching. She has a sonogram and exam scheduled for Monday and will call with results.
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